


Her Rock

by thisisallbullshit



Series: Everything's Okay [7]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fiona's POV, M/M, Mickey is a proud boyfriend, i hope its half decent, tbh this is just my attempt to flesh out Ian's character a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 06:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12030192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisallbullshit/pseuds/thisisallbullshit
Summary: Fiona discovers a few things about Ian.





	Her Rock

Fiona’s never had to worry about Ian.

Ian always made decent grades, never got into too much trouble, was the only Gallaher who managed to hold a job, and never bothered anyone with his dramatics. Even when he was a baby, Fiona remembered that he was never much of a crier, and mostly just observed things with those big eyes of his. Ian was always the easy one.

Which is why when he started bringing around a Milkovich, she wasn’t worried.

Fiona had only just realized he was gay when Mandy started hanging around. Between his indifference to walking in on Vee topless, to the unimpressed look on his face in the pictures of Kev’s bachelor party full of strippers, his disgusted expression when Fiona had asked him if he _did_ in fact touch Mandy Milkovich was really just a nail in the coffin.

The thing about Ian, though, was he was always so _quiet_. So _private_. Two characteristics seldom found in Gallaghers, mind you. She wondered if he got them from his biological father, because the way he dodged any personal questions and always stayed rational, even when extremely frustrated, was _nothing_ like how everyone knew every little thing going on in Lip’s “relationships” or how Debbie threw a tantrum at the drop of a hat.

But, he was always such a good kid, she never had any reason to worry. So she ignored the fact that “I was out late with a study group” and “The bruises are from ROTC” were clearly lies. She ignored the fact that he stayed out late several nights a week and tended to come home with hickeys. She did her best to ignore how Ian had apparently been sleeping with Jimmy’s dad, though that one was a little harder to get past than the rest.

Because Ian was her rock. She _needed_ to not have to worry about him.

She did worry a little bit, though, when Mickey Milkovich started hanging around. She tried to rationalize it (Ian “dated” his sister, Mickey probably wanted to get to know him to keep her safe; they worked together, surely they bonded at least a _little_ bit), and ultimately ignored the thug’s presence, because Ian was a _good kid_. She could trust his judgement. If Ian thought Mickey was a good enough guy to bring around their family, she would go along with it. Ian was her rock, she trusted him.

On the one occasion she did ask why Mickey couldn’t just play videogames in his _own_ home, Ian had just raised an eyebrow and said, “Would _you_ want to hang around in a house with Terry Milkovich all day?” And, yeah, that made sense. Terry’s a menace, it was sort of dumb of her to think that his kids didn’t realize that, when they probably knew better than anyone else. Ian kind of had a way of making you feel like that sometimes – sort of dumb, that is – because he was intelligent. Not the loud, pretentious kind of intelligent that Lip was, but the subtle kind that left you feeling shocked at every reminder.

One of the bigger reminders happened late one night in December. Mickey was there, which Fiona decided not to question (Jimmy disappearing, full-time job, Christmas coming up, she had a lot on her mind). They were throwing a party for Lip’s graduation, which really just meant there were balloons everywhere, Kev & Vee were over, as well as Sheila for some reason, and everyone was drinking—not her best work, but again, she had a lot on her mind. Ian had spent the whole time on the couch with Mickey, talking quietly amongst themselves, nursing beers and sharing a joint. Ian didn’t say much to her until everything was winding down.

She had just sent Debbie and Carl upstairs with Liam and was saying goodbye to Sheila, Kev & Vee when Ian got her and Lip’s attention, “Hey, can I talk to you guys for a minute?” he’d asked tentatively.

Fiona frowned, turning to Lip who was looking at Ian curiously. “Sure, sweet face. Everything alright?”

Ian bit his Lip nervously and turned to Mickey who nudged him encouragingly. “So. I, um, got my diploma today…?” Ian trailed off, trying to sound cheery but mostly just sounding kind of nervous. Fiona and Lip were quiet for a moment, both too drunk and too shocked to think of something to say immediately, so Ian jumped into an explanation, “Back in freshman year, I tested out of all my English courses, remember? And then, I did all those math courses during the summer. Plus, I have a bunch of extra elective credits because of all my ROTC stuff, so I only had a couple of classes left after this semester, and my counselor let me try testing out of those last week. Well, I, uh, found out I passed today. So I have no more classes left to take. Which means I’m. Graduated. I guess,” he finished awkwardly.

Fiona felt herself tearing up, _fuck_. When the hell did her kid grow up so fast? “Wait, does this mean you’re going to enlist? In March, on your birthday?” she asked.

Ian took a deep breath, and she noticed Mickey place a hand on his thigh and squeeze before letting go. “Well, I was thinking I’d hang around for a year or so. Get a second job, try and help out around here some more. Especially now that Lip is leaving for college soon and Jimmy seems to have disappeared.” She felt a few tears dropping at this point, she was just so _proud_. He was turning into an adult, right there in front of her face—and a responsible adult at that. One that had promise, who would likely get out of this neighborhood and make something of himself. She always knew he would, but it had really snuck up on her, and this reminder was hitting her like a train. He continued, “And I didn’t get into WestPoint anyway, so…”

Fiona had no idea he was even trying to get into WestPoint, but Lip looked concerned. “Wait, you didn’t? Fuck, man, I had no idea. You okay?”

Ian shook his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I, uh, found a way to take my mind off it.” He turned to Mickey then, offering him a little private smile, and it was then that Fiona really noticed Mickey for the first time that night.

She noticed that Mickey had been staring at Ian for the entirety of the conversation, but more importantly, she noticed his expression. He was staring at Ian in the same way Fiona probably was. He was smiling a little, eyes soft, looking so goddamn proud. Mickey was looking at Ian like he was the sun and the moon and the last cigarette on earth. And Ian was looking back at Mickey like he, too, found the other boy to be the most precious thing in the world.

Fiona, not for the first time and probably not for the last, was struck with just how _fucking dumb_ she was. She couldn’t believe she didn’t see it sooner. These two idiots were in love.

She didn’t really know what to do with herself after that realization, so she had just hugged Ian in congratulations and excused herself for bed.

As she lay there, alone (fuck you very much, Jimmy), her mind wouldn’t stop racing. How long had those two been together? How serious was Ian about _Mickey fucking_ _Milkovich_? Was he a bad influence on her brother? She told herself Ian was smart, that he wouldn’t get involved with someone who was bad for him, but then she remembered the whole thing with Jimmy’s dad, and started to doubt herself. She could hear Ian and Mickey downstairs, still hanging out, talking quietly, and her curiosity got the best of her.

She made her way down the kitchen stairs as quietly as she could and peeked around the corner. They were cleaning up the empty beer bottles and sagging streamers in the living room.

“-like the fuckin’ Brady Bunch. Don’t know why the hell you were nervous to tell them, dumbass,” Mickey was saying.

“I dunno. I just hate being the center of attention and shit. Plus, this was Lip’s party. Didn’t wanna take that away from him,” Ian explained.

“Yeah, well, it should’ve been _your_ party. Your brother’s supposed to be this ‘genius’ or whatever, but he can’t even fucking graduate on time. And here you are, graduating early and shit, but your family barely notices all the shit you do. You could probably go missing and they wouldn’t even make a thing of it. It’s bullshit.” Mickey was pretty heated, and he was aggressively throwing trash into the trash bag now. Fiona might’ve dwelled on how protective Mickey was being of her brother, if she wasn’t busy wondering if he’s right, and she really didn’t pay enough attention to Ian.

“Mick, they don’t know about anything because I don’t tell them about anything. They’ve got enough shit on their plates, especially Fiona.”

“Whatever. All I’m saying is, they should be proud of you. You should be proud of _yourself_. This graduating shit is a big deal.”

Ian grinned, dropping his trash bag and pulling Mickey flush to his chest, wrapping his arms around the thug’s waist. “Yeah? Are _you_ proud of me?”

Mickey rolled his eyes, but raised his hands and Fiona watched in shocked awe as tattooed fingers, which were known for inflicting pain, traced her brother’s face, as gently as if he was trying to stroke a fragile bubble. “’Course I am.”

He had that look on his face again, like he was looking at the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid his eyes on. He was smiling, and Fiona realized he hadn’t ever seen Mickey Milkovich smile before. He looked good like this, and Fiona was momentarily able to undertand what Ian saw in him.

“Ya know,” Mickey continued, “I’m also pretty happy that you’re gonna be sticking around a bit. It’d be a real pain to find another sexy closet-case within walking distance.” Ian laughed before leaning in and slotting their lips together, and Fiona turned back to the stairs to give them some privacy.

She heard Mickey say that he had to go, and they kissed a little bit more before she heard the front door open and close back. Steeling herself, Fiona walked into the kitchen and cleared her throat, causing Ian to jump a little bit.

“Hey…” he greeted awkwardly, and she knew that he knew just from her expression that she overheard all of that.

“How long?” Fiona asked.

Ian sighed and sat on the couch, patting the spot next to him in invitation for her to join, which she did. “Almost two years, I guess.”

Fiona practically choked. Shit, she could see they felt strongly about each other, but that’s as long as Fiona’s longest-ever relationship, which apparently ended last week. “Jesus. You love him?”

Ian bit his lip, smiling a little bit. He looked away and she grinned. She got her answer. For the second time that night, Ian made happy tears well up in her eyes. “Mickey fuckin’ Milkovich, huh?”

Ian looked defensive, “You know I wouldn’t be with him if he was a bad guy, right? I know you won’t believe me, but he’s actually really sweet and—”

Fiona shook her head, cutting him off. “I trust you. If you’re in love with him, that’s good enough for me, okay?” Ian smiled gratefully. “So, where is it?” she asked.

Ian frowned. “Where’s what?”

“Your diploma.” He pulled it out of his bag in the kitchen and handed it to her. There she fucking goes, crying again. “You do know I’m proud of you, right? Not just about this, but—your ROTC, keeping a job, apparently having a healthier relationship than any of us, and with a fucking _Milkovich_. You do a lot around here, and I should thank you more often—”

“Hey, no,” he cut her off, “It’s fine. I know you’re proud. I don’t know what I’d do if you tried to give me more attention anyway. Don’t worry about it.”

She smiled and kissed him on the temple before getting up and putting Ian’s diploma in a frame next to where she’d put Lip’s earlier that night. God, how did she raise that kid in her house? She must be doing something right.


End file.
